A Letter to Heather Solos, Author of Home Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living

Dear Heather Solos,

I know I agreed to review your new book, Home-Ec 101: Skills for Everyday Living - Cook it, Clean it, Fix it, Wash it, but I can't. It's not that I don't like it. I do like it, actually. I like it a lot. I like your writing style, your sarcasm, and your wit.

Some parts of the book have really pierced my heart, like

If no one who visits your home is ever hungry or thirsty, it may be time to take a hard, unbiased look at your cleaning habits.

Um, ouch. That thought never, ever occurred to me before. I just thought people were not hungry or thirsty.

But that's not why I can't review your book.Pin

The problem is that I can't read it.

The first time I sat down to read it, I opened to page 59. I read about how to soak the bathtub with laundry soap overnight to get rid of grime. I put the book down and went to soak the tub because it really needed to be done (and I didn't know I was supposed to do it in the first place).

But then I got distracted by the laundry, and I forgot to come back to the book.

Another time, I read about vacuuming the refrigerator coils. First of all, I didn't even know that my refrigerator had coils.

So I asked my husband,

"Joe? When was the last time we vacuumed the refrigerator coils?"

"The what?"

"The refrigerator coils. This book I'm reading says you're supposed to vacuum them a few times a year to keep the fridge working at its peak efficiency."

"I've never heard of that."

"There are a lot of things you've never heard of, Dear."

And the coils never did get vacuumed, until I did it myself. But while I had the vacuum out, I thought I should vacuum the dust off of the cabinets and out of the corners.

That did not help me to write a review.

It happened a third time. I was reading the chapter about dining rooms, where you suggested that I vacuum my window sills, sashes, panes, and the space between the window and the screen.

What?!? Vacuum the windows? I assure you; I have never even considered vacuuming the windows.

So I went to do it.

Incidentally, I noticed you mentioned having ADD and finding a lot of other things to work on while you're trying to clean the dining room. I'm glad you brought that up since it's exactly how I feel!

In conclusion, I'm so sorry that I won't be able to review your book in the time frame we agreed upon. I have to much to do, thanks to its pages, and I don't have time to write up a full book review. I'd offer to return it to you, but I am using it.

Sincerely,

Tara Ziegmont from FeelsLikeHomeBlog.com